System and method for controlling remote console functionality assist logic

ABSTRACT

A computer system, such as a server disposed in an enterprise, accessible from a remote terminal for remote management applications. The computer system includes a remote console functionality assist logic structure for effectuating the sending and receiving of signals from the remote terminal. The remote console functionality assist logic structure is controlled by a dedicated processor that receives interrupts therefrom in response to a remote management application. The processor can also control one or more peripheral devices provided in the computer system, wherein the controlled peripheral device or devices are disposed up-stream or down-stream from the processor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Divisional of application Ser. No. 09/313,220 nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,385,682 entitled “System and Method for ControllingRemote Console Functionality Assist Logic” by Theodore F. Emerson,Siamak Tavallaei and John V. Butler, which was filed on May 17, 1999 andissued on May 7, 2002.

This application hereby incorporates by reference the followingco-assigned patent applications which describe related subject matter:U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 08/733,254, entitled “VideoEavesdropping and Reverse Assembly to Transmit Video Action to a RemoteConsole,” (Inventors: Theodore F. Emerson, Peter J. Michaels and JeoffM. Krontz); U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,143, entitled “Remote Server ManagementDevice,” (Inventors: Brian Humpherys, John Butler, Siamak Tavallaei,Theodore F. Emerson and Doron Chosnek); U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/086,690, entitled “Method, System, and Apparatus for IntelligentInput/Output Device Driver Translation, and Emulation,” filed May 28,1998 (Inventor: Theodore F. Emerson); U.S. Pat. No. 6,212,587, entitled“Device Proxy Agent for Hiding Computing Devices on a Computer Bus,”filed Dec. 10, 1997 (Inventors: Theodore F. Emerson and Christopher J.McCarty); U.S. Pat. No. 6,173,341, entitled “System and Method forConfiguring Adapters in a Computer System,”. (Inventors: Theodore F.Emerson and Christopher J. McCarty); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,708,entitled “Host Bridge Configured to Mask a Portion of Peripheral DevicesCoupled to a Bus Further Downstream of the Host Bridge from a HostProcessor,”. filed Jun. 15, 1998 (Inventors: Siamak Tavallaei, Brian T.Purcell and Brian S. Hausauer).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to computer systems, and moreparticularly, to systems and methods for controlling remote consolefunctionality assist logic devices that are used for accessing computersystems from remote locations.

2. Description of Related Art

An overwhelming trend affecting the server marketplace today is thegrowth of the distributed enterprise. As a result of the serverproliferation throughout an enterprise, customers are demandinghigh-availability solutions that reduce or eliminate downtime wheneverpossible. One method of achieving high availability is through the useof effective server management tools.

As can be readily appreciated, how a server will be accessed as well asthe management functions that are to be performed are importantconsiderations in determining appropriate server management tools. Aserver can be accessed in different ways, depending on connection methodand server state. A server can be connected to other computers anddevices through either an “in-band” connection or an “out-of-band”connection. In the context of the present patent application, an in-bandconnection refers to the communication connection that is made with theprimary communication device for normal use by the server when it is notdown. For example, it may be a network connection established through amedium such as a twisted pair 10 Base-T that is available for normal andcustomary access to the server. On the other hand, an out-of-bandconnection may be envisaged as a “back-door” communication connectionthat is established when the server is down, that is, the server is notaccessible through its normal, customary access means. The out-of-bandconnection can some times be viewed as an asynchronous connection also.

Once a connection is made to the server, a system administrator may needto use different server management tools, depending on whether theserver is online or offline. An online server refers to one in which theOperating System (OS) is up and running. If the OS is down, the serveris considered offline.

Remote server management devices have been used to facilitate remoteaccess and administration of server computer systems in the event of afailure. Server failures may arise on account of several possibilitiessuch as, for example, faults associated with the server OS,malfunctioning of one or more central processing units, network-relatedand power-related faults, et cetera. Typically, in such eventualities,normal access to the server and its internal diagnostic subsystems islost. Accordingly, it is common to provide remote console functionalitywithin servers to be able to access the failed server from a remotedevice.

The remote console functionality is typically designed to allow a userto access a server from another computer, or device, known as amanagement console, as though the user is at the server. Logic, whichcan be implemented as certain hardware and firmware modules, is providedto assist and realize such functionality. Henceforth, such logic will bereferred to as “remote console functionality assist” logic. Such assistlogic can include a video encoder and a keyboard interface logic thatallows the user to input data to the server from a keyboard at theremote terminal. The video encoder, in combination with the server videocontroller, allows the user to receive output from the server on adisplay, such as a monitor, at the remote terminal.

The remote console functionality is advantageous because the user isprovided with video and keyboard access, even where the Operating Systemof the server is down. The user therefore has the ability to access theserver, perform diagnostics, reset the server, watch the reset processremotely, and view previously stored console activity, regardless ofwhether the server Operating System is online or offline.

The remote console functionality assist logic can also includeout-of-band connection logic such as, for example, modem sharing logic.Such logic allows an asynchronous connection to be established betweenthe server and a remote terminal. It can be appreciated that whileremote console functionality can comprise discrete logic modules, it mayoften be implemented as an Application Specific Integrated Circuit(ASIC) also, giving rise to such structures as are known as IntegratedRemote Console (IRC) devices.

Conventionally, the hardware of the remote console functionality assistlogic is operated under the control of the server system processor orprocessors. Because of this arrangement, the hardware of the remoteconsole functionality is often considered as “slave hardware.” Thesystem processor controls the hardware of the remote console logic byexecuting software in the system management mode (SMM) invoked by asystem management interrupt (SMI).

Several current remote server management solutions utilize the SMM-basedscheme described above. However, these solutions are known to haveseveral drawbacks and shortcomings. Because these devices are under thecontrol of the system processor or processors, a portion of theprocessing capacity of the computer system is diverted. To minimize theprocessing capacity diversion, the functionality associated with theremote control software executed by the processor is typically providedto be rather rudimentary in nature. For example, the software does notinclude features such as a security layer. Advanced functionalities suchas networking protocols (for example, the Point-to-Point Protocol) thatare capable of multiple sessions, TELNET connections, et cetera,accordingly, are also not practical in current systems. Of course, whilethe system processor can execute more advanced software to control theremote console functionality hardware, providing such advanced softwareresults in increased degradation of the processing power of the computersystem.

Another drawback is that current remote server management devices dependon the proper functioning of the processors of the server computersystem. However, if the processors of the computer system are notfunctioning, or malfunctioning, the remote console functionality isrendered inoperable. Therefore, the computer system will be inaccessibleduring such situations. Because the remote console functionality is usedfor troubleshooting a failed server, reliance on proper functioning ofthe processors thereof is not desirable.

A further drawback is that the access to the server system with currentremote console functionality solutions is typically limited to a rathersimple connection such as a modem connection. In a large enterprisecomputer system, it is highly cumbersome to provide at a server site fornumerous modem/telephone connections. It is more preferable to havenetwork connections, on the other hand, because of the speed andmanageability.

Advanced remote server management solutions such as dedicated managementsubsystems/cards have been proposed which address some of the drawbacksdescribed above. However, these advanced solutions are substantiallyexpensive and suffer from an additional shortcoming of not beinghot-pluggable. Accordingly, it should be readily appreciated that theuse of such solutions will typically increase system downtime whendevices embodying them need service or maintenance, thereby negativelyimpacting server availability.

The present invention, described and claimed hereinbelow, is directed toremote server management solutions that overcome these and othershortcomings and deficiencies of the extant systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a cost-effective remote server managementsolution that is highly versatile and expandable by virtue of adedicated processor for controlling the remote console functionalityassist logic. Further, by segmenting certain portions of the assistlogic the remote console functionality may be rendered hot-pluggable.Furthermore, because of the increased processing power that isavailable, advanced features may be provided in the overall remoteconsole functionality.

The present invention, accordingly, is directed to a computer systemwith a plurality of peripheral devices disposed on a bus, which computersystem comprises: a remote console functionality assist logic structuredisposed on the bus for effectuating remote system managementapplications relating to the computer system; and a processor forcontrolling at least one of the remote console functionality assistlogic structure and one of the plurality of peripheral devices, whereinthe processor receives interrupts from the remote console functionalityassist logic structure responsive to one of the remote system managementapplications.

In a further aspect, the present invention is related to a computersystem, comprising: a first peer Input/Output (I/O) bus forinterconnecting a first plurality of devices and a first plurality ofexpansion slots; a second peer I/O bus for interconnecting a secondplurality of devices and a second plurality of expansion slots; and anexpansion board comprising a processor, the board disposed in one of thesecond plurality of expansion slots, the board further having aconnector for facilitating the transmission of control signalsassociated with the processor, wherein the second plurality of devicesincludes a remote console functionality assist logic structure, whichstructure is controlled by the processor.

In a yet further aspect, the present invention is directed to a methodof remotely monitoring a computer system, comprising the steps of:providing a remote console functionality assist logic structureassociated with the computer system; establishing a connection betweenthe computer system and a remote terminal; and controlling the remoteconsole functionality assist logic structure by an Input/Outputprocessor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present invention may be had byreference to the following detailed description when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary conventional server computersystem including a typical implementation of remote consolefunctionality assist logic;

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of a presently preferred exemplaryembodiment of a server including remote console functionality assistlogic provided in accordance with the teachings of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of another presently preferred exemplaryembodiment of a server including remote console functionality assistlogic provided in accordance with the teachings of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of remote consolefunctionality assist logic; and

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an Input/Output (I/O)expansion card including remote console functionality assist logic inaccordance with the teachings of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The numerous innovative teachings of the present application will bedescribed with particular reference to the presently preferred exemplaryembodiments. However, it should be understood that this class ofembodiments provides only a few examples of the many advantageous usesof the innovative teachings herein. In general, statements made in thespecification of the present application do not necessarily limit any ofthe various embodiments of the claimed invention. Moreover, somestatements may apply to some inventive features but not to others.

Referring now to the Drawings wherein like or similar elements aredesignated with identical reference numerals throughout the severalviews, and wherein the various elements depicted are not necessarilydrawn to scale, and more particularly to FIG. 1, a block diagram of anexemplary conventional server computer system 100 including an assistlogic block 108 for providing remote server management functionality.One or more system microprocessors (or central processing units) 102 areconventionally coupled to a block of system memory 106. This coupling isfacilitated by way of a block 104 having memory controller and busbridge functionality. Block 104 is designed to couple a host bus to afirst Input/Output (I/O) bus 110 such as a Peripheral ComponentInterconnect (PCI) bus. A bus-to-bus bridge 112 couples the first I/Obus 110 to a second I/O bus, such as an Extended Industry StandardArchitecture (EISA) bus to which a modem controller device 114 may beattached. A video controller 116 is disposed on the first I/O bus 110for controlling the video display functionality associated with thesystem 100. The remote console functionality assist logic block 108 isoperably coupled to the first I/O bus 110 for effectuating remote servermanagement functions typically through an out-of-band connection via themodem controller device 114. It should be understood that the logicblock 108 may typically be implemented as an integrated remote console(IRC) ASIC.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 1, the assist logic block 108 typicallycomprises a keyboard interface (KI) logic circuit 120 and a modemsharing logic circuit 122. In order to achieve video playback and/or tominimize CPU's video processing time, a video encoder (VE) 118 may alsobe provided as an enhancement, although it is not essential. As can beappreciated by those skilled in the art, the VE circuit 118 and thevideo controller 116 are disposed on the same bus segment for enablingthe capture of video information for remote retrieval. Thesoftware/firmware associated with the logic block 108 redirects thevideo information from the remotely managed server system 100 to anoff-site administrator terminal (not shown), providing the systemadministrator with full text mode video and keyboard access. Becauseother functions in the server system 100 are suspended while operatingin a system management mode (SMM), the system processor complex behavesas though it is a processor dedicated to the remote application task athand (that is, as a “virtual microprocessor,” depicted herein withreference numeral 102′). For convenience, the microprocessor 102 and thevirtual microprocessor 102′ are collectively referred to as 103.

The logic block 108 further includes a system management controller 130,including an interrupt status register 132 and an interrupt masksregister 134, and an Input Output Processor (IOP) interrupt controller136, also including an interrupt status register 138 and an interruptmask register 140. The system management controller 130, in conjunctionwith an interrupt line 124 running from logic block 108 to the systemprocessors 103, allows the remote console functionality assist logic 108to be controlled by the system 100. Similarly, using the IOP interruptcontroller 136, an IOP (not shown) controls the remote consolefunctionality assist logic 108.

Referring now to FIG. 2, depicted therein is a block diagram of apresently preferred exemplary embodiment of a server 200 including aremote console functionality assist logic 208 provided in accordancewith the teachings of the present invention. A host OS/CPU complex 202is coupled via a bridge 204 to a first bus 206. Disposed on the bus 206are the assist logic block 208, system video controller 116, a networkor modem communication device 210, a bridge 213, and a processor 212. Insome implementations, the processor 212 may include bridge functionality213 so that it is bridged to a second bus 214 that interconnects aplurality of peripheral devices illustrated herein as Di 216, D2 218 andD3 220. Although in this particular exemplary embodiment the processor212 is shown to include bridge functionality 213, one of ordinary skillin the art should realize that such bridge functionality 213 is notessential for the purposes of the present invention.

The assist logic 208 further includes a system management controller230, including an interrupt status register 232 and an interrupt maskregister 234, and an Input Output Processor (IOP) interrupt controller236 also including an interrupt status register 238 and an interruptmask register 240. The system management controller 230, in conjunctionwith an interrupt line 224 running from the assist logic 208 to thehost/OS complex 202, allows the remote console functionality assistlogic 208 to be controlled by the system 200. Similarly, the IOPinterrupt controller 236 and an interrupt line 225 allows the processor212 to be controlled by the assist logic 208.

The processor 212 can control not only the peripheral devices 216, 218and 220, but as stated, also is designed to control the remote consoleassist logic block 208. When the server system 200 is accessed foreffectuating a remote server management function, a suitable interrupt(IRQ) is generated by the logic block 208 that is associated with theremote management function. The IRQ is then routed to the processor 212for performing the requisite remote server management function inconjunction with the assist logic 208.

Furthermore, in this exemplary embodiment, the processor 212 can alsocontrol one more peripheral devices that are disposed in front of it(i.e., connected to the first bus 206), such as the network interface ormodem device 210, in addition to the assist logic block 208.Accordingly, those skilled in the art should appreciate that theprocessor 212 may be provided to be an Input/Output Processor (IOP) inaccordance with a standardized I/O architecture known as the IntelligentInput/Output (I₂O) architecture. However, it is not necessary to providean I₂O-compatible IOP for the purposes of the present invention.Appropriate background subject matter relating to the I₂O architecturecan be found in the following patent application commonly assigned tothe assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein byreference: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/086,690, entitled“Method, System, and Apparatus for Intelligent Input/Output DeviceDriver Translation, and Emulation,” filed May 28, 1998 (Inventor:Theodore F. Emerson).

In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, the assistlogic 208 and the network/modem device 210 are provided up-stream fromthe vantage point of the processor 212 which may be provided with aback-up battery or an auxiliary power source (not shown). Because of theadditional processing power of the processor 212, the server 200 may beprovided with enhanced remote applications such as, for example, secureconnections, multiple sessions, in-band connectivity, et cetera, withouthaving to divert the processing power of the CPU complex 202. Since theassist logic 208 is independent of the host OS, the system administratorcan bring the OS up or down or even reset the server 200, whileremaining in control thereof through either an in-band or out-of-bandconnection with a remote terminal.

The assist logic 208 monitors all video activity between the host CPUcomplex 202 and the video controller 116. Based on the content of theindividual bus cycles (e.g., PCI bus cycles) propagated on the first bus206, the assist logic 208 monitors the operations that the system OS isperforming and provides that information to the remote terminal toenable interactive user interface or for storage and playback. Some ofthese operations include scrolling the server console screen, clearingthe screen, and drawing text, if any. After the operation is monitored,the assist logic 208 encodes the data needed to reconstruct thatoperation. When the collected data exceeds a select threshold, theprocessor 212 retrieves and processes the collected data in response toa suitable IRQ delivered by the assist logic 208. Additional subjectmatter relating to the capture of video information for remote retrievalmay be found in the following patent applications commonly assigned tothe assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein byreference: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/733,254, entitled “VideoEavesdropping and Reverse Assembly to Transmit Video Action to a RemoteConsole,” (Inventors: Theodore F. Emerson, Peter J. Michaels and JeoffM. Krontz); and U.S. patent application Ser. No. UNKNOWN, entitled“Remote Server Management Device,” (Inventors: Brian Humpherys, JohnButler, Siamak Tavallaei, Theodore F. Emerson and Doron Chosnek).

Referring now to FIG. 3, shown therein is a block diagram of anotherpresently preferred exemplary embodiment of a server 300 including aremote console provided in accordance with the teachings of the presentinvention. An OS/CPU complex 302 of the server 300 is coupled to a firstpeer I/O bus 304 and a second peer I/O bus 306 via known means. In thisexemplary embodiment, these peer I/O buses preferably comprise PCI busesas discussed hereinabove. Disposed on the first peer bus 304 are aplurality of peripheral devices, exemplified by device 1 (referencenumeral 308) and device 2 (reference numeral 310), and a plurality ofslots (for example, slot 1 (reference numeral 312), slot 2 (referencenumeral 314) and slot 3 (reference numeral 316)) for providing suitablecoupling means for peripheral cards (not shown).

Continuing to refer to FIG. 3, coupled to the second peer I/O bus 306are the remote console assist logic 208, a network/modem interfacedevice 210, the video controller 116 and a plurality of expansion slots(slots 322, 324 and 326). One of the expansion slots, for example, slot326, is coupled with a peripheral card 328 which comprises a processor330 for controlling the up-stream remote management devices. A connector332 is provided for transporting various side-band signals used forcontrolling the up-stream devices. Once again, suitable back-up orauxiliary power sources may be provided with the card 328. Additionalsubject matter relating to the control of upstream devices by theprocessor 330 shown herein or the processor 212 (shown in FIG. 2) may befound in the following patent applications commonly assigned to theassignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference:U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/988,345, entitled “Device ProxyAgent for Hiding Computing Devices on a Computer Bus,” filed Dec. 10,1997 (Inventors: Theodore F. Emerson and Christopher J. McCarty); U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/140,040, entitled “System and Method forAssigning and Controlling Adapters in a Computer System,” (Inventors:Theodore F. Emerson and Christopher J. McCarty); and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/098,015, entitled “System and Method for HidingPeripheral Devices on a Bus,” filed Jun. 15, 1998 (Inventors: SiamakTavallaei, Brian T. Purcell and Brian S. Hausauer).

It should be readily appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the artthat by utilizing the Intelligent I/O architecture, both the networkconnection and the modem connection may be virtualized under the controlof the I/O processor so that the data packets that need to forwarded tothe OS and the data packets associated with out-of-band management maybe appropriately sorted out as they enter the server system.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a block diagram for an exemplary embodiment ofthe remote console assist logic 208 is depicted in accordance with theteachings of the present invention. A video encoder (VE) 402 is disposedon the same bus segment on which the system video controller (VC) (notshown in this FIG.) is provided. The logic provided within the assistlogic 208 facilitates the monitoring of all video activity between theserver system CPU complex and the VC. However, it should be realizedthat the video encoder 402 is generally provided for enhancedfunctionality such as video playback, etc., as described above and isnot essential for the purposes of the present invention. A keyboardinterface (KI) logic block 404 is also provided within this exemplaryembodiment of the assist logic 208.

Referring now FIG. 5, shown therein is a block diagram of an exemplaryembodiment of an Input/Output (I/O) expansion card 500 including remoteconsole functionality assist logic in accordance with the teachings ofthe present invention. The card 500 comprises the processor 330 inaddition to the remote console assist logic 208 and NIC/modem device210, coupled to a local bus segment. It should be understood that thecard 330 is designed to couple to a bus that is connected to the systemvideo controller (not shown). Also, suitable battery back-up or stand-byauxiliary power sources may be provided therewith.

Based upon the foregoing, it can be readily appreciated by those skilledin the art that the present invention provides a remote servermanagement solution with a dedicated processor for enhanced performanceand additional remote application capability. Also, because thededicated processor could preferably be provided as an IOP amenable tothe I₂O architectural specification, the remote server managementfunctionality itself may be segmented into discrete sub-blocks disposedeither upstream or down-stream from the processor (that is, in front ofor behind the processor/bus-bridge structure). It should be realizedupon reference hereto that under this arrangement the processor, assistlogic sub-blocks and other devices (e.g., the network interface carddevice, modem device, et cetera) could be rendered as hot-pluggableexpansion card devices whereby the system video controller remainslocalized as an embedded device on the system board. Additionalprocessing power can be utilized in providing multiple sessioncapability, in-band connectivity, security and reliability in theconnection with the remote terminal.

Although certain preferred exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention have been illustrated in the accompanying Drawings anddescribed in the foregoing Detailed Description, it will be understoodthat the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed, but iscapable of numerous rearrangements, modifications and substitutionswithout departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth anddefined by the following claims. For example, as mentioned above, theremote console functionality may be provided in discrete modules asseparate up-stream PCI devices controlled by the dedicated processor.Referring again to FIG. 2, the processor 212 and the peripheral devices216-220 could be arranged into an expansion board that is coupled to aslot on the bus 206. Further, such a board may be provided with aback-up power source such that it remains operable even when the serversystem 200 is powered down. In a similar fashion, the peripheral board328 (shown in FIG. 3) or board 500 (shown in FIG. 5) may also beprovided with suitable back-up power or stand-by auxiliary sources.Moreover, as can be appreciated by those skilled in the art, theintegration of the remote console functionality and associated logic maybe accomplished in various modular combinations such that variousstructural variations are possible in terms of the modules' locationwith reference to the controlling processor. Accordingly, all suchmodifications and rearrangements should be deemed to exist within thescope of the present invention which is defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of controlling remote consolefunctionality assist logic in a computer system, the computer systemcomprising a system processor and a first bus that is adapted to connecta first plurality of devices, the method comprising the acts of:providing the computer system with an input/output processor that isadapted to control a second plurality of devices disposed on a secondbus; providing remote console functionality assist logic that comprisessystem management interrupt controller logic and input/output processorinterrupt controller logic, the system management interrupt controllerlogic being adapted to exchange interrupt information with the systemprocessor and the input/output processor interrupt controller logicbeing adapted to exchange interrupt information with the input/outputprocessor; and controlling the operation of the remote consolefunctionality assist logic with the input/output processor via theinput/output processor interrupt controller logic.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, comprising the act of providing an add-in board with aconnector that facilitates the transmission of control signalsassociated with the input/output processor to the remote consolefunctionality assist logic.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprisingthe act of providing the remote console functionality assist logicstructure with a system management controller.
 4. The method of claim 1,comprising the act of disposing the remote console functionality assistlogic on an add-in board.
 5. The method of claim 4 comprising providingthe add-in board with a back-up power supply.
 6. The method of claim 1,comprising the act of providing the remote console functionality assistlogic with a video encoder for encoding video signals transmittedbetween a video controller and a system processor associated with thecomputer system.
 7. The method of claim 1, comprising the act ofproviding the remote console functionality assist logic with a keyboardinterface logic circuit.
 8. A method of providing remote servermanagement control functionality in a computer system, the computersystem comprising a system processor and a first bus that is adapted toconnect a first plurality of devices, the method comprising the acts of:providing the computer system with an input/output processor that isadapted to control a second plurality of devices disposed on a secondbus; providing the computer system with remote console functionalityassist logic that is adapted to monitor activities in the computersystem and provide data to a remote user, the remote consolefunctionality assist logic comprising system management interruptcontroller logic and input/output processor interrupt controller logic,the system management interrupt controller logic being adapted toexchange interrupt information with the system processor and theinput/output processor interrupt controller logic being adapted toexchange interrupt information with the input/output processor; andcontrolling the operation of the remote console functionality assistlogic with the input/output processor via the input/output processorinterrupt controller logic.
 9. The method of claim 8, comprising the actof providing an add-in board with a connector that facilitates thetransmission of control signals associated with the input/outputprocessor to the remote console functionality assist logic.
 10. Themethod of claim 9 comprising providing the add-in board with a back-uppower supply.
 11. The method of claim 8, further comprising the act ofproviding the remote console functionality assist logic structure with asystem management controller.
 12. The method of claim 8, comprising theact of disposing the remote console functionality assist logic on anadd-in board.
 13. The method of claim 8, comprising the act of providingthe remote console functionality assist logic with a video encoder forencoding video signals transmitted between a video controller and asystem processor associated with the computer system.
 14. The method ofclaim 8, comprising the act of providing the remote consolefunctionality assist logic with a keyboard interface logic circuit. 15.A computer system, comprising: a first peer Input/Output (I/O) bus forinterconnecting a first plurality of devices; a system processor that isadapted to control the first plurality of devices; a second peer I/O busfor interconnecting a second plurality of devices; an input/outputprocessor that is adapted to control the second plurality of devices;and remote console functionality assist logic that comprises systemmanagement interrupt controller logic and input/output processorinterrupt controller logic, the system management interrupt controllerlogic being adapted to exchange interrupt information with the systemprocessor and the input/output processor interrupt controller logicbeing adapted to exchange interrupt information with the Input/outputprocessor.
 16. The computer system as set forth in claim 15, whereineach of the first and second peer I/O buses comprises a PeripheralComponent Interconnect (PCI) bus.
 17. The computer system as set forthin claim 15, wherein the remote console functionality assist logic isdisposed on an expansion board.
 18. The computer system as set forth inclaim 17, wherein the expansion board comprises a back-up power source.19. The computer system as set forth in claim 15, wherein the remoteconsole functionality assist logic comprises a video encoder forencoding video signals transmitted between a video controller and thesystem processor.
 20. The computer system as set forth in claim 19,wherein the remote console functionality assist logic comprises akeyboard interface logic circuit.
 21. A computer system having a systemprocessor that is adapted to control a first plurality of devicesdisposed on a first bus, the computer system comprising: a second busthat is adapted to connect a second plurality of devices; aninput/output processor that is adapted to control the second pluralityof devices; and remote console functionality assist logic that comprisessystem management interrupt controller logic and input/output processorinterrupt controller logic, the system management interrupt controllerlogic being adapted to exchange interrupt information with the systemprocessor and the input/output processor interrupt controller logicbeing adapted to exchange interrupt information with the Input/outputprocessor.
 22. The computer system of claim 21, wherein the remoteconsole functionality assist logic is disposed on an expansion board.23. The computer system as set forth in claim 22, wherein the expansionboard comprises a back-up power source.
 24. The computer system of claim21, wherein the remote console functionality assist logic comprises asystem management controller.
 25. The computer system as set forth inclaim 21, wherein the remote console functionality assist logiccomprises a video encoder for encoding video signals transmitted betweena video controller and the system processor.
 26. The computer system asset forth in claim 21, wherein the remote console functionality assistlogic comprises a keyboard interface logic circuit.
 27. A remote servermanagement control system for a computer system, the computer systemcomprising a system processor and a first bus that is adapted to connecta first plurality of devices, the remote server management controlsystem comprising: an input/output processor that is adapted to controla second plurality of devices on a second bus; and remote consolefunctionality assist logic that comprises system management interruptcontroller logic and input/output processor interrupt controller logic,the system management interrupt controller logic being adapted toexchange interrupt information with the system processor and theinput/output processor interrupt controller logic being adapted toexchange interrupt information with the input/output processor.
 28. Theremote server management control system of claim 27, wherein the remoteconsole functionality assist logic is disposed on an add-in-board. 29.The remote server management control system as set forth in claim 27,wherein the remote console functionality assist logic is disposed on anadd-in-board comprises a back-up power source.
 30. The remote servermanagement control system of claim 27, wherein the remote consolefunctionality assist logic comprises a system management controller. 31.The remote server management control system as set forth in claim 27,wherein the remote console functionality assist logic comprises a videoencoder for encoding video signals transmitted between a videocontroller and the system processor.
 32. The remote server managementcontrol system as set forth in claim 27, wherein the remote consolefunctionality assist logic comprises a keyboard interface logic circuit.